China’s Coast Guard confirmed on Tuesday that it had fired water cannon at Philippine vessels near the disputed Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea, prompting Manila to accuse Beijing of “aggressive” actions that left one person injured. The latest confrontation underscores the growing volatility in contested waters that serve as one of the world’s busiest maritime corridors.
The incident occurred just a week after China announced plans to designate the shoal, a 150-square-kilometre chain of reefs and rocks, as a national nature reserve. Analysts argue that this move is a strategic attempt to consolidate Beijing’s claim to the atoll, which it calls Huangyan Island, and to test Manila’s willingness to push back against Chinese assertions of sovereignty.
China’s Coast Guard said more than ten Philippine vessels had “illegally invaded” what it described as its territorial waters around the shoal. Its spokesperson, Gan Yu, accused the Philippine government ship 3014 of deliberately ramming a Chinese vessel despite repeated warnings, adding that Chinese forces had responded with “control measures” that included verbal cautions, route restrictions and water cannon fire.
Footage released by Chinese authorities showed the bow of the Philippine vessel making contact with a Chinese coast guard ship, with water jets drenching the deck and causing visible damage to the railing. Manila, however, rejected Beijing’s version of events, saying its ships were on a humanitarian mission to assist more than 35 Filipino fishing boats operating in the area.
According to the Philippine Coast Guard, nine Chinese ships engaged in “aggressive actions” against its fleet, with two directing high-pressure water cannon at the 3014 fisheries vessel.
Officials reported that the attack caused significant damage to the vessel and left one crew member injured by shattered glass.
The Philippine Maritime Council dismissed China’s claims of “lawful” control measures as disinformation and propaganda.
Tensions over the Scarborough Shoal, also known locally as Panatag Shoal, have simmered for more than a decade, with previous incidents involving boat-ramming, dangerous manoeuvres by Chinese vessels, and Chinese aircraft shadowing Philippine patrols. While confrontations have often been tense, they have so far stopped short of armed conflict.
The shoal sits within waters rich in fishing resources and lies inside the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone, but China continues to assert sweeping sovereignty claims over almost the entire South China Sea. These claims overlap with those of Brunei, Malaysia, Vietnam and Indonesia, fuelling a patchwork of disputes across the region.
In 2016, the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague ruled that China’s expansive claims had no basis in international law, a decision Beijing has consistently rejected. The ruling has done little to deter China’s efforts to entrench its control over disputed features, while the Philippines and its allies insist on upholding the international maritime order.
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